Introduction
: Mammadov Anar Ziya oghlu (son of Ziya Mammadov, the Transportation Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan). The Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of Garant Holding, a corporation with diversified business interests in infrastructure, construction, oil and gas production, international trade, telecommunications and hospitality services, the founder of the Azerbaijani-American Alliance, and the president of the Azerbaijan Golf Federation.
According to the official website of the Azerbaijani-American Alliance, Mr. Mammadov graduated from a university in the United Kingdom (Great Britain).
(
Photo 1
)
Media reputation
: Two years ago Anar Mammadov was involved in a scandal, where he allegedly ordered a bear kebab for 1 million dollars in Gabala. However, A. Mammadov denied the accusations in his statement to the Bizim Yol newspaper: “This is a rumor. The media writes whatever it wishes to write. I do not attach importance to such kind of writings”. In spite of his statement, Anar Mammadov sued the newspapers, Azadlig and Yeni Musavat, that publicized the scandal.
A few years ago Al Jazeera and Radio Liberty publicized that ZQAN Holding belonged to the family of Minister Ziya Mammadov and was run by Anar Mammadov.
A joint research by Radio Liberty along with the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project detected that there were business ties between the Baghlan Group, run by businessman Hafiz Mammadov, and the holding headed by Anar Mammadov. Thanks to the ties between these two, the Baghlan Group benefitted from privileges in the transportation sector.
Anar Mammadov, son of Ziya Mammadov, the Transportation Minister is also known as one of the leaders of Justice to Khojaly Campaign, which was held in the USA in 2012.
Anar Mammadov is a minister’s son. He has established businesses in the sectors directly related to the Transportation Ministry headed by his father. His businesses have taken advantage of the budgetary contracts and licenses provided by his father. How does the family of a state official afford to build businesses worth millions is a mystery. The size of these businesses also raise questions. Only a tiny portion of the companies run by Anar Mammadov are known to the public.
Our research about Anar Mammadov revealed that he has businesses in transportation, construction, as well as other sectors in Azerbaijan, England and Turkey.
Businesses of the Minister’s son in Turkey:
Two companies, directly connected to Anar Mammadov, operate in Turkey. These are
Eurasia Construction Industry and Trade
, and
Eurasia Investment Construction Industry and Trade
. (
Photo 2
,
Photo 3
) (
Pdf 1
,
Pdf 2
)
A. Mammadov is a former member of the managing board of Eurasia Construction Industry and Trade, and Eurasia Investment Construction Industry and Trade. Interestingly, both companies have the same people on the managing board and all of them are connected to Anar Mammadov.
The investment value of Eurasia Construction Industry and Trade [of which Anar Mammadov was a former board member of], is worth 7.5
million Turkish lira. The distribution of the company’s investment among its shareholders is not clear. The current members of the managing board are Emil Alasgarov, the member of the Board of Directors of
Garant Holding
, Khayal Rasulov, head of
Transaget LTD
, with the main share in the public transportation of Baku city
(According to the information given by the Ministry of Taxes on September 05, 2011, Khayal Rasulov is also the founder of Global Card LLC along with ZQAN Holding/source:
abc.az
),
and Arzuman Mammadov, grandfather of Anar Mammadov. The major focus of the company is development of architectural designs and construction of hotels, official buildings, villas, channels and bridges. (
Photo 4
)
The investment value of Eurasia Investment Construction Industry and Trade is worth 100 million Turkish lira. The current board of directors consists of the above-mentioned Emil Alasgarov, Khayal Rasulov and Arzuman Mammadov. The former board of the company included Anar Mammadov along with Hafiz Mammadov, head of the
Baghlan Group
. Similar to the Eurasia Construction Industry and Trade, this company too is into development of architectural designs and construction of real estate ventures- hotels, official buildings, villas, canals and bridges.
Another company connecting Khayal Rasulov, Arzuman Mammadov and Emil Alasgarov is
Baltech Construction, Industry and Trade
. The investment value of the company is worth 51 million Turkish lira. The company was registered on July 07, 2011. The major business of the company includes all kinds of projects, including the construction of office buildings and trade centers. (
Photo 5
)
Emil Alasgarov, who serves as a board member in the above mentioned companies, is Minister Ziya Mammadov’s nephew. He is also among the directors of two companies in Virgin islands:
Trans-European Leasing Group Ltd.
and
Montgomery Industries Ltd.
(
Photo 6
)
Montgomery Industries Ltd. is also one of the shareholders of ZQAN Holding that is among the companies directed by E. Alasgarov.
As the director of Trans-European Leasing Group Ltd. and Montgomery Industries Ltd., Emil Rafayil oglu Alasgarov indicates ’36A Ziya Bunyatov St., Baku city’ as the registered address. (
Photo 7
)
Trans-European Leasing Group Ltd. is also the founder of
Baku 21st Century LLC
that ordered the building of the Baku International Bus Terminal. Baku 21st Century LLC was registered in Azerbaijan in March 2004, and there is no publicly available information about its founders.
In addition,
Belux Furniture store
and
Azerbaijan Equestrian Federation
are also registered under the ’36A Ziya Bunyatov St.,’ address.
Emil Alasgarov is also known as one of the witnesses in the case of two beaten journalists, namely reporter Elman Badalov of the Yeni Musavat newspaper and reporter Anar Aliyev (Gerayli) of the Milli Yol newspaper. The two were beaten when filming Ziya Mammadov’s mansion. E. Alasgarov, who lived not far from the mansion, claimed no journalists were beaten.
Business of Garant Holding:
According to the official website of Garant Holding, the Chairman of the Board of Directors is Anar Mammadov, son of Ziya Mammadov, the Transportation Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The company operated under the name of ZQAN Holding from 2005 to 2013. ”
The Wikileaks Azerbaijan, Who Owns What?
” series highlighted that the abbreviation of the ZQAN was made of the first letters of the family members of the Mammadovs: father Ziya, mother Qatiba, son Anar and daughter Nigar. However, a ZQAN spokesperson denied this. (
Photo 8
)
Seventeen domestic companies are included in
Garant Holding
. These are:
Garant Insurance OJSC, Azbentonit LLC, Royal Estate LLC, Garant Tour LLC, English Yard LLC, Guba Olympic Sport Complex LLC, Avto-Media LLC, Ujar Agro LLC, M.Trans LLC, Ameritex LLC, Transeurocom LLC, Zqan construction LLC, Turbo.az LLC, Garant Insurance Agency LLC, Guba Resort LLC, AFK LLC, Delfin LLC and Goranboy Gyps OJSC. The companies in this holding are different from one another because of their business activities. (
Photo 9
,
Photo 10
,
Photo 11
)
According to the official website of
Garant Insurance OJSC
, it belongs to Garant Holding. The fixed capital of the company is 4 million Azerbaijani manats (AZN). The company offers both individual and corporate clients 18 voluntary and 4 obligatory insurance services. These include insurance for vehicles, mortgage, medical, property, liability, cargo transportation, and insurance for foreign travelers, etc. (
Photo 12
)
As a part of Garant Holding, the aim of
Azbentonit LLC
is to explore and study mineral non-ore deposits in the country, conduct technological evaluation, and organize the production of materials for different use, based on the industrial importance of the raw materials.
Royal Estate LLC
is located on the second floor of the Baku International Bus Terminal. An investigation by Radio Liberty, “The owner of the International Bus Terminal is found to be from Virgin islands”, reveals the enterprise that built the bus terminal complex-ZQAN Construction-belongs to Anar Mammadov, the transportation minister’s son. The complex is operated by
Baku 21st Century company
, which is founded by his uncle Elton Mammadov, a representative of the Parliament. Ziya Mammadov, the Transportation Minister, issued license for the construction of this international bus terminal.
The initial revenue of Royal Estate LLC is
6 million manats
. The major activity of the company is to manage real estate. (
Photo 13
)
Garant Tour LLC
is one of the companies of Garant Holding. Its major activity is to deliver tourism services at home and abroad, in spite of the lack of financial statements.
Sometimes, the local media outlets in Azerbaijan write that Guba region in northern part of Azerbaijan is under the control of Minister Ziya Mammadov. Namely, he appeared in front of the crowd during the
2012 Guba unrest
. The appearance of the Transportation Minister gave rise to many questions since the unrest did not involve the transportation sector. The connection to Anar Mammadov is that
Guba Olympic Sport Complex LLC
is a part of Garant Holding. Even though Isa Musayev is the legal representative of the Olympic Complex, which is located within 4 km of the Guba-Baku highway, this complex is included in Garant Holding and is indicated on its official website. (
Photo 14
)
Another project in Guba operated by Junior Mammadov is the golf club, which also acts as the head office of the
Azerbaijan Golf Federation
(A.Mammadov is the president of the AGF). It is not clear how much money was spent to build the club. Dominik Naughton, one of the managers of the AGF, said to Radio Liberty that the project was worth millions, but he refrained from giving a specific number.
Avto-Media LLC
is also under the control of the transportation minister’s son. Its major activity is transportation. Avto-Media, which was established in 2008, makes and installs commercial billboards for public taxis known as London taxis, for public buses, highways and roads. Let us note that the Transportation Ministry, which is headed by the father of Anar Mammadov, issues licenses for all the taxis operating in the country.
Poultry processing at
Ujar Agro LLC
as a part of Garant Holding was started in September 2012. It is planned to process 6,000 chickens per hour in the 5 ha poultry section of the overall 87 ha production area. According to information on the official website of ZQAN Holding as of September 2012, the construction of the poultry section was to last 18 to 20 months. It means the poultry processing section will be ready to start up production very soon. (Here is a link of the recent 3D view of Ujar Agro:
http://www.garant.az/html/ucar_aqro.html
) (
Photo 15
)
A joint business of the father and the son
M-Trans LLC
is one of the most prominent companies belonging to Mammadov. This company reveals joint business interests between the father and son. M-Trans was registered at the Ministry of Justice on October 14, 2003 with a certificate number 0103-P31-38580.
The main activity of this company is to organize intercity and international transportaton by automobile based on the various licenses given by the Transportation Ministry of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
This business of Anar Mammadov is provided with the requied licenses by the Transportation Ministry of the Republic of Azerbaijan, which is headed by his father, to carry out intercity and international transportation by automobile.
Currently, the company carries out international and domestic public transportation, as stated by its official website. The company purchased 5 new Daewoo BH 120F buses in 2014 in order to expand its transportation capacity. These buses mainly carry passengers on the routes Baku-Nakhchivan and Baku-Red Bridge. The company plans to add 5 more Daewoo FX212 buses to its fleet.
The M-Trans organizes public transportation to 62 regions of Azerbaijan, as well as to 28 cities of Russia, Turkey, Georgia and Iran.
The
Meridian hotel
, which is located in Ichari shahar (the Old City) is another source of income for Anar Mammadov along with construction, public transportation, tourism, etc. This hotel is officially registered as Ameritex LLC and is a part of Garant Holding.
Transeurocom LLC
is an enterprise of Anar Mammadov that specializes in the communication sector. The company offers digital telecommunication channels via fiber optic cabels, broadband and unlimited Internet access. It has provided these services in the cities of Baku, Ganja, Yevlakh, Aghstafa, Hajigabul, and along the Baku-Boyuk Kasik railroad, as stated by its official website. (
http://www.transeurocom.az/az/pages/2/32
)
Zqan Contruction LLC
is one of the earliest companies of Garant Holding. The company, which was founded in 2003, has implemented a number of state and private construction projects. These include the construction of the Heydar Aliyev museums in Ujar and Zardab, bus terminals in Ujar, Yevlakh and Guba, the SOCAR clinic in Guba, the building of Intelligent Transport Management Center (Baku city), Yasamal branch of the Bank of Azerbaijan and other capacious buildings. (
Photo 16
)
In his interview to the website of the New Azerbaijan Party dated May 4, 2011, Ziya Mammadov, the Transportation Minister stated that 77 million dollars were spent to build the overall system of the Intelligent Transport Management Center. However, an overall breakdown of the construction cost of the center is not given.
Turbo.az LLC
of Garant Holding has been known as the online vehicle sales venue in Azerbaijan for many years. The manager of the website is officially Emin Hasanov. However, the site was founded by Elnur Baimov. The latter even announced to the media that turbo.az was his most favorite project. Mr. Baimov formerly worked as the director of Baku city transportation management division, which is part of the Intelligent Transport Management Center at the Transportation Ministry.
Garant Insurance Agency LLC
is another company of Garant Holding. The official founders of the company is Garant Insurance LLC and ZQAN Holding LLC. It was founded in 2008. The company is currently located at 13 Kaverochkin street, in the same building with Garant Holding.
Goranboy Gyps
OJSC is the most scandalous company of Garant Holding. The company is located in Yukhari Aghjakend village of Goranboy. There were lengthy lawsuits between ZQAN Holding and Goranboy Gyps in 2012. In relation with the incident of June 2012, Fizuli Gasimov, the former head of Goranboy Gyps told to the media: “Goranboy Gyps has been occupied. There was a raid to my facility a few days ago. The representatives of ZQAN and Azbentonit took part in the raid. I dialed 102 service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs immediately. The intruders withdrew only after that. I also called 102 yesterday, but my call was ignored. Goranboy Gyps has been taken as a result of the raid. Plus, my other property, Elmir LLC was raided. They held an illegal, fictitous resolution by the Court of Goranboy in their hands. I submitted necessary documents showing that the property had no connection to Goranboy Gyps. They put people with guns in the entrance of my companies and did not let us go in. The lawyers of ZQAN Holding complained to the Goranboy police about my father. My dad has not even seen their faces. The director of Azbentonit has also complained to the police about me, as if I threatened him.”
A disputable bank
The Bank of Azerbaijan is among the businesses of Anar Mammadov, that is covered in the media from time to time.
The bank belongs to ZQAN Holding, as stated by the Azerbaijan State Telegraph Agency in 2011. Anar Mammadov was indicated as the owner of 81% of the shares in the documents of the Bank of Azerbaijan on January 22, 2013. A.Mammadov is one of the co-founders of the bank according to the document registered by the State Committee for Securities of the Republic of Azerbaijan. We come across the name of Hafiz Mammadov among the observatory board of the Bank of Azerbaijan, as it is given in the issue prospectus of the shares submitted to the Baku Currency Exchange in August 2012. Mubariz Mammadov, brother of Hafiz Mammadov, owned 18% of the bank shares.
The bank shares were concentrated in the hands of Hafiz Mammadov and his relatives, after Anar Mammadov sold his bank shares. According to information from January 2014, the shares are distributed as follows: Kanan, a son of Hafiz Mammadov – 43%; Sanan, another son – 43% and brother Mubariz –13%. (
Photo 17
)
Hafiz Mammadov was dismissed from the chairmanship of the observatory board of the bank, as well as his relatives from the membership of the board, as a result of a management meeting of the bank on May 22, 2014.
Mehman Mammad oghlu Ismayilov was selected as chairman of the observatory board of the Bank of Azerbaijan, Javid Yusif oghlu Javadov and Araz Ismayil oghlu Aliyev were selected as the board members.
The latest changes are regarded as the victory for Anar Mammadov over Hafiz Mammadov in the Azerbaijani media. Though the change of the chairman and members of the observatory board was officially announced by the bank, new shareholders and the distribution of the shares have not been released yet. (
Photo 18
)
Another change about the bank is that the new director of the management board is Mahammadali Aslanov, son of Mahir Aslanov, who is a representative of the Parliament.
Currently, the main building and actual address of the bank is in Garant Plaza, which belongs to Anar Mammadov, the transportation minister’s son.
It has been known, that the shares of the bank are worth 50 million manats.
The official website of the Ministry of Taxes states that the head of the
Baku Volleyball Club
is Anar Mammadov, the transportation minister’s son. However, it is not indiciated on the official website of Garant Holding. The club is registered as Baku Volleyball Club LLC. The founders of the company are ZQAN Holding LLC and a person named Hasrat Hasratov. It is interesting that Mammadov, the father has visited the base of the club a few times. Ziya Mammadov is the president of the Azerbaijan Voleyball Federation, along with serving as the transportation minister.
The official sponsor of the club is the Bank of Azerbaijan. The official website of the bank states that there is a contract of sponsorship between the bank and the club. Ruslan Mammadov, a relative of Anar Mammadov is the legitimate representative of the club. As many other companies of Anar Mammadov, Baku Volleyball Club is legally registered at 13 Kaverochkin street.
Another company, which is part of Garant Holding is
Real Cleaning LLC
. There is no official statement about this company on the website of Garant Holding. However, the founder of this company is ZQAN Holding according to a statement by the Ministry of Taxes made in 2012. Real Cleaning LLC is registered in the United Arab Emirates.
International companies of the minister’s son in Azerbaijan
Anar Mammadov, the transportation minister’s son, has not been involved with only establishing businesses domestically and abroad, but also purchasing franchises of many foreign brands throughout Azerbaijan. Mammadov has 5 franchise companies and 1 media enterprise. These are Guba Rixos hotel, a franchise of international Rixos hotel, restaurant chain of the world-known KFC in the food sector in Baku, stores of Versace and Giuseppe Zanotti, which are famous fashion and jewelry brands in the world, Trump Towers Baku, which is a hotel of the famous Trump hotel chain, and Azerbaijani version of the famous National Geographic Magazine. (Official website of Garant Holding:
http://www.garant.az/az/Fran%C3%A7ayzinq/0330
) (
Photo 19
)
The KFC Baku restaurant chain, which is under the control of Mammadov, is officially registered as AFK LLC. The official website of the company confirms that KFC has 4 restaurants in Baku. These are located as follows: The Fountains Square, Park Bulvar trade center, 28 Mall trade center and in the historical building near 28 May metro station.
Business ties from Baku to England
Anar Mammadov also owns businesses in Great Britain. He is the founder and director of Brookwood International Limited. (
Photo 21
)
ZQAN Holding, which is registered in Dubai, is also registered in Great Britain as ZQAN UK LTD (
Photo 22
)
Anar Mammadov is personally not among the founders of ZQAN UK Ltd. However, British citizen Zafar Abbasi, Mammadov’s partner at Brookwood International Limited in Great Britain, is among the founders of ZQAN UK Ltd.
Zafar Abbasi also has a few other companies in England. The above-mentioned partnership increases probability that his other companies have ties with Anar Mammadov. Furthermore, in his other companies, Zafar Abbasi has partnership ties with Imran Ishaq, who is one of the founders of ZQAN UK Ltd.
Andrey Boris Chuykov, who is among the founders of ZQAN UK Ltd, also owns a few companies registered in England. (Photo
23
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25
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26
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